The Blood Of Eden
by BloodOfEden
Summary: After a terrible accident, what happens to strengthen a bond between three people and two in specific. Has Sara found the love of her life, only to loose him? Is this one challenge she's ready for?
1. The Accident

In the beginning it was dark. It's always dark in the beginning. Or so she was told.

All she wanted to do was escape. Escape her town, escape her parents, escape everything. Eventually she found herself in the Las Vegas Crime Lab. She was assigned to the Graveyard shift. She's been there for a couple years now. Everything was fine…for the most part. Then he came.

She remembered it almost perfectly. Armed guards were surrounding him. He arrived in the classic orange jumpsuit, his hands cuffed behind his back and his feet chained together. Little did she know how easily he could have broken those chains and killed them all. She didn't know that then, but she knew now. And she thanked God that he didn't almost everyday.

All he did was stand there, staring at them, and they stared back. But she stared back in a different way. As she stared back her eyes were full of fear. She was _afraid_ of him. He had to have been able to sense it. If it had been a while before, he would have took pleasure in her fear. But, no. After so much had happened to him, all he did was stare back at them. He did not struggle. He did not break his chains. He did not take on the armed guards (even though he would have won.) He did not try to escape. He did not glare at any of them. All he did was stand and stare.

Had she known then what she knew now, who knows how she would have reacted? She might have run away. She might have run up and hugged him, thanked him for being there. But of course all she knew then was that he was there to "help with a case" and for containment. That being all she knew about him, she simply stood there, and stared.

But why don't we skip ahead now. No use in wasting time in the past. If you waste too much time dwelling on the past, you might miss what's right in front of you. That being said I will leave you too it.

In the beginning it was dark. It's always dark in the beginning. Every beginning comes from some other beginning's end. Or so he was told.

Zane opened his eyes to the yelling of a female voice close to him. He recognized it immediately.

" About time you woke up! I was wondering if you were really dead this time." Catherine Willows yelled from the other end of Zane's spacious cell.

" Oh ye of little faith." Zane said as he slowly sat up, the large scar on his abdomen making a large protest.

Catherine eyed him. Zane had been here for a couple years now. He looked to be in his mid thirties but he never aged so you'd never be able to tell. He died when he was 35 and right now he didn't look a day over it. In the years she'd known him, he hadn't aged at all. He had midnight black hair that went down to about an inch above his shoulders, and skin as pale as ivory. He had a face that looked as if it had been carved by angels, with a toned and muscular body to go with it. In her opinion he was too good to be true. Good, no, make that great looks and he was a gentlemen to boot. At the moment all he was wearing was dark blue, loose fitting jeans, and his trusty black and white, high top, Chuck Taylor Converse All Stars that were well worn in. On his abdomen his ivory colored skin surrounded a fresh cut and many, many other scars and bruises.

Catherine almost took pity on Zane. He always seemed to be injured. Whether it was an accident or and injury he acquired during his many fights, they always seemed to be there and present. But the only one that had never gone away was the scar running from his right temple to the right side of his cheek.

While Catherine was lost in thought, Zane had gotten a plane black T-shirt and put it on. Quickly he ran a comb through his hair so it fell evenly on each side of his head. He flexed his muscles and then walked over to Catherine.

" Alright. Let's go." He smiled at her and she opened the gate, letting them both out.

As they were walking Catherine noticed Zane was limping badly. "What's that from?" she said nodding to his leg.

" Stab wound in my upper leg, huge bruise on my shin from when I lost my footing and landed on my shins, and a twisted ankle from training." Zane said in a kind of nonchalant way.

" Shouldn't you have crutches? Or a walking cast at least?" She asked, her maternal instincts taking over.

" Probably."

Walking down the hall, Catherine noticed that when people saw Zane coming they automatically took to the walls, looking so conspicuously down at the floor it was as if, if they made eye contact with Zane they would fall to the floor dead. Zane didn't seem to bothered by it. He was probably used to it. Sometimes she wished she could have his eyes. Zane's eyes were a brilliant ice blue color that was capable of so many emotions. At times they looked to gentle and kind, but they could harden over into sharp piercing ice in a flash. When he was mad, no one even dared look into his eyes. Well almost no one…

Catherine sighed. Sara Sidle. Sara was the only one who could ever look Zane straight in the eye when he was mad. It was like she was unaffected by the invisible paralysis Zane could put on everyone. She didn't know what it was. There was only one time that Catherine had ever known for sure that Sara was afraid of Zane and that was when he first arrived in the Crime Lab.

Suddenly a hand waved in front of Catherine's face.

" You in there Cat?" Zane looked at her, his eyes appearing kind and gentle.

" Huh? Oh, Yeah. Just thinking."

Suddenly a new voice came in. " Well, save some for the crime scene." Said Gil Grissom.

" Why, isn't there already enough brain power around here?" Warrick Brown said as he passed by, Nick Stokes following closely behind.

" Aw, Warrick. Feeling jealous?" came another voice from the other direction.

" Yeah right Sara. What do you have that I should be jealous of?" Warrick crossed his arms over his chest.

Zane stepped between them. " Warrick, please don't get her started."

Sara punched Zane in his shoulder. " What's that supposed to mean?"

" As much as I find all this sibling rivalry amusing, can I hand out assignments please?" Grissom intervened.

" Sure go ahead Gris." Warrick said, casting a look over at Sara that said "We'll finish this later." Sara shot one back at Warrick that read, " Damn right!"

" Alright. Nick, and Warrick, you two are with me. There was a decomp unearthed at a construction sight on the outskirts of the city. Sara, Cat, and Zane you three have a 419 at a house in the desert across the city."

That was all Sara needed to hear before she was off, Catherine following closely at her side and Zane behind them.

" I'm driving." Sara stated.

" No, I'm driving." Catherine argued.

" I called it!"

" It's my car!"

" Who said we're taking your car?"

" I did!"

" Hey, ladies," Zane interrupted, stepping between the two. " How 'bout I drive?"

" No." They both said in unison.

Zane shrugged. " Worth a shot."

" We'll rock, paper, scissor for it." Sara suggested.

" No way! That's so childish." Catherine argued.

" Well okay then," Zane said. " But be warned this might end up in a cat fight. Wait…actually…keep arguing. I'll go get the guys and we can watch you!"

The two women stopped dead in their tracks and looked at each other.

" I'll drive." Catherine said and she walked over to her car.

" Shotgun!" Sara yelled as she raced over to the passenger's side of the car.

" No, wait!" Zane called, but it was two late. Sara had already planted herself in side as Catherine started up the engine. Zane sighed as he hopped into the back seat.

A Half An Hour Later

" Man Nick, I didn't know you could drive that fast." Warrick said as they got to the Construction sight at record time.

" Neither did I." Nick shrugged as he pulled out the kits from the back of Warrick's Tahoe.

As they neared the taped off area, Grissom's cell went off.

" Hello?"

" Grissom. It's Zane."

" What can I help you with?"

" Actually I'm just dandy, you know, just sitting in the car with the windows open, listening to the wonderful sound of two women arguing what music to listen to…"

In the background Grissom could hear Catherine suggest a band and Sara suggest another. And then they started arguing about which is best.

" Zane, is there a point to this?"

" Yes actually. Well as I said the windows are open and I just felt the temperature drop a couple degrees. That means that it dropped even more over by you."

" I didn't feel a thing. What's your point?"

" My point is you have about five minutes to process your crime scene before it starts pouring. Have a nice night."

There was a click on the other line but Grissom didn't hear it. He quickly hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket.

" Nick! Warrick! Cover the body, collect evidence, and take pictures fast! We have five minutes until this entire scene is gone!

And just five minutes later the clouds opened up and there was a torrential downpour that stretched across the whole entire city of Las Vegas. Thunder crashed and lightning snapped. Trees, buildings, telephone poles, people, everything was at the mercy of the storm.

Catherine squinted as hard as she could but it was no use. She could just barely see the car in front of her.

" Keep squinting that hard and you're gonna pop a blood vessel." Zane said as he looked at Catherine through the rear view mirror.

" Well would you prefer I not squint and kill us all?"

" Well it might kill you two, though I highly doubt it would kill me."

Suddenly the car in front of Catherine completely disappeared as the rain came down even harder.

" Cat, why don't you pull over and we'll wait the rain out." Sara suggested worriedly.

" Good idea."

But it was to late. Before Catherine had a chance to stop there was a screech somewhere in front of them. Before they knew it another car rammed into Catherine's Tahoe. The road was slippery so the wheels had no friction and then one of the wheels stalled. Catherine's breaks were no good. They went colliding into the flimsy metal guardrail, which gave away easily under the power of the Tahoe. They next thing they knew they were tumbling down the steep hill. Catherine and Sara gave out shrill screams as the car tumbled down relentlessly. It started turning over and rolling down the hill. Finally, it stopped.

The inertia carried Sara forward and she hit her head with a thud on the dashboard. Catherine, who had not been wearing a seatbelt, had her leg sticking out the part of the windshield that was still intact. She was also partly on Sara's lap, unconscious. Zane, who also had not been wearing his seatbelt, had gone head first out of the windshield on Sara's side. He was now clinging to the hood of the Tahoe.

Sara slowly looked up then realized something. The hood of the car was halfway wrapped around a tree. And the car itself was making a creaking noise, as if it was…_tilting_…

" Sara?" It was Zane's voice. Sara slowly looked over to him, only to find out her vision was doubled.

" Sara, can you understand me?"

She nodded slightly, giving her a monster of a headache.

" Sara, listen to me. The car is slipping. Can you walk?"

That's when it hit her. Zane wasn't clinging to the hood of the Tahoe; he was holding it in place. Sara looked down at her legs. She thought her ankle might have been broken but that was the least of her problems. If she didn't get Catherine out she would loose her.

Slowly Sara opened her car door. She stepped out and once she was sure the car wouldn't fall she reached back in and grabbed Catherine. Sara placed her hand behind Catherine's back and put an arm under her knees and she lifted her up.

" Oh god Cat, how much do you weigh?"

Looking around Sara realized that they were on what seemed to be a ledge on the steep ground. Sara started to walk over towards the middle of the ledge but her ankle (which indeed was broken) gave out and Sara slipped, falling to her knees.

Zane realized they were both out of the car. Slowly he let go. The car shifted a little, threatening to take him down with it, but then it stopped. Zane sighed with relief and ran around the car to where Sara and Cat were.

" Sara! Are you okay?"

Sara wobbled a little bit. It seemed like she was going to fall backwards. She reached her hand up to her head. When she pulled it away she realized her head was bleeding.

" I think…I have…a…concussion…" she managed to say. She looked down to Catherine, who was still unconscious.

" You two need to get back up by the road or they'll never find you." Zane looked around. The ground above them was so steep that he knew he'd never be able to carry both of them. And he didn't have enough strength to change either. He sighed.

Sara heard him. " Take Cat…up first…I'll…be fine."

Zane couldn't stand leaving Sara behind. But she was tough. Besides, he'd only be a couple minutes right? What could happen in a couple minutes?

Slowly he put an arm behind Cat's back and an arm under her knees. He lifted her up. Slowly he walked up the steep hill. After a couple of steps he was already tired. But he had to keep going. The girl's survival depended on him. He could only bring Catherine up halfway before he was exhausted. Slowly he set her down on the flattest spot he could find and took a breath.

Sara felt so disoriented. She just wanted to cuddle up in bed and sleep for a week. But she couldn't. Sleep was bad for a head injury. If she closed her eyes she might not wake up. Suddenly she smelled something. It smelled like, gas. Sara whipped her head over to the car. It was leaking gas. She only had about a minute to get away from it.

Sara looked up the hill. With a broken ankle, concussion, and God knows what else injuries, she'd never get away from the car in time. As fast as she could she started dragging herself away from the wreck.

" Shit…Zane!"

Zane whipped around and looked at Sara who was slowly dragging herself away from the car.

" Zane! The gas…from the…car! It's leaking."

All of Zane's exhaustion melted away as his adrenaline began pumping at light speed.

Suddenly there was a loud crack as the tree the black Tahoe had most of its weight on snapped and fell down the hill. Then the car exploded, the burning chunks flew down the hill as well. But was it too late for Sara?

Hell no. The waves of the crash blew Sara away. She landed a little farther down the hill with a loud thud. She screamed at the pain.

" SARA!" Zane yelled as he bolted down the hill.

Sara looked up to see someone; maybe it was Zane, running down the hill.

Suddenly a chunk of metal came out of nowhere from the sky. It was skinny and slick with rain. It came down relentlessly from the sky and impaled Zane though the abdomen. He slid and his knees hit the ground. He gasped for air and looked down at the piece of metal. But he couldn't stop. He had to get Sara.

Slowly he stood up and ran down the rest of the way to Sara. Once he got close to her he slid on the ground and almost passed her. He scurried back over just as she laid her head back down on the ground.

He picked her up as he did Catherine and carried her back up the hill. By now blood started trickling out of his mouth. It was a half an hour before he got Sara back up by Catherine. He set her down and then fell to his knees. Sara had already drifted into unconsciousness and Catherine hadn't woken up yet. Their sleeping faces were the last things he saw before he too hit the ground, unconscious.

The rain kept relentlessly pounding down on the three of them as the hours past. No help came. No one saw them crash. Things were dark, but as I said before, in the beginning…it is always dark.

End of chapter one. And for those of you that need to know, no one died. Yes this is somewhat of a crossover of Underworld and CSI. But so far Zane is the only one that is a lycan and sometimes you can't even tell. So don't worry. I just wanted the CSI's to be exposed to something knew and have them know that not everything is strictly science.

Anyway, please read and review and tell me if I should continue with this. Thank you and thank you and maybe I'll see you in the next chapter.

Until then,  
Demon-In-My-View13


	2. It's on your hands

Sara opened her eyes. She looked around but all she saw was an angry black sky. The rain had ceased for the moment, but by the looks of the sky it would most likely be back. Sara wondered if she should risk getting up. What time was it? How long had she been sleeping?

Finally she decided to get up. She needed to check on Zane and Catherine. Sara gritted her teeth as she propped herself up on her elbows. It gave her a searing pain in her head but she tried as hard as she could to ignore it. First she looked over at Catherine. By the looks of it she had not moved. As she looked closer, Sara could she Catherine's sides go up and down in even inhales and exhales of breath. She guessed she'd be waking up sometime soon.

Sara then looked over at Zane. He was lying on his side. She narrowed her eyes. Was that…_metal_ sticking out of his back? How long had he been lying like that? Was he dead?

Quickly, ignoring the pain, Sara moved herself over to his side. She shook Zane fiercely.

" Zane! Zane! Wake up!"

She continued calling his name and shaking him until she saw Catherine move. Sara looked over at her.

" Catherine! Cat can you hear me?" She yelled.

" Yeah I can hear you, you're yelling loud enough!" Catherine said back groggily. Without thinking she sat up only to be forced back down by the pain in her arm and leg. She looked over at Sara who was still shaking Zane. Her eyes narrowed. " Is that a piece of metal?"

" Yeah. When the car exploded he was running down to get me and it impaled him. He brought me all the way back up here and then I guess he passed out."

" Sara I'm sorry to tell you this, but if he's been bleeding this whole time he's probably not still…" The reality of her own words hit Catherine. What was she saying? This wasn't just any victim. This was Zane! Her friend. She couldn't just give up on Zane, after all the times he'd been there for her.

" No! He's not dead! He's not allowed to be dead!" Sara yelled at Catherine, shaking Zane even harder.

" I know. I know. Keep calling his name. We need to get that piece of metal out of his abdomen."

Sara nodded and looked down at him. He looked peaceful in his sleep. Dead almost. No. That wasn't going to happen!

" Zane!" she called out as if she was yelling halfway across a football field.

Slowly his eye's started to open. He looked up to see Sara. He smiled and almost forgot until he tried sitting up and realized he was still impaled. He groaned. Suddenly Catherine came into his view. He was glad she was awake.

Catherine looked down at Zane. Something was wrong with him. He was burning hot to the touch, which was odd because Zane normally had no temperature at all. In fact, he usually was ice cold to the touch. And if it was possible, he looked a little paler than usual, which was also odd, because his skin was usually as pale as ivory. Catherine shook her head.

" Sara, we need to get the piece of metal out of him. Help me sit him up."

Carefully, using as much strength as they had left they sat Zane upright. Catherine looked at it. Then she looked at Sara. It seemed like her arm was broken.

" Sara you have to pull it out."

Sara's eyes widened as she look at Catherine. " What!"

" You have a broken arm, you can't hold him still so that means you have to pull it out."

" Cat…I don't know…I…I…"

" God dammit Sara! Now's not the time to be squeamish! We're talking about Zane's life here!"

Sara sighed and nodded. Slowly she gripped the cold metal. She looked at Zane who nodded.

" One quick motion Sar. It'll be fine." He assured her.

Sara shut her eyes tight. Quickly before she could talk herself out of it she pulled. Zane let out a groan and she stopped. She opened her eyes and looked down. The metal had only come out a little. She sighed and gripped again. With another nod from Zane she placed both her hands on the metal. Using all of her remaining strength Sara closed her eyes and pulled as hard as she could. The piece of metal came sliding out of Zane with a sickening squishing sound, along with his yell of pain. He also was still bleeding, so some excess blood splattered over Sara's clothes, hands, and face. Sara looked at her hands, covered in the crimson liquid oozing down her hands and she felt it on her face. Then she looked over at Zane who was still bleeding and Catherine, also splattered with a little blood. That's when she knew they'd never get out of there. Quickly Sara crawled away. She looked at the ground and threw up.

Catherine wanted to help Sara but first Zane needed to be bandaged. Catherine took off her jacket and ripped off a sleeve. Then she tore one side of the sleeve down the middle. She started to wrap it around Zane's waist when she realized it wouldn't be enough. She had medical supplies in the Tahoe. She looked up and realized it wasn't there.

" Zane, where's my car?"

" It blew up Cat."

Catherine sighed. She took the other sleeve of her jacket and did the same with the first. Soon he was all ready.

The wind picked up as the rain started to fall again. Zane took his coat off and gave it to Catherine.

" Here. You need it more than I do."

" Zane…Thank you." Was all she could muster as she slid his coat on. There was dried blood on the back but she didn't notice.

Zane looked over to Sara and realized she needed help. Slowly he stood up and limped over to her. He picked her up and carried her back over next to Catherine, who looked like she was going to drift off to sleep.

Zane looked over Sara critically. She obviously had a concussion, but he was unsure of how bad it was. It also looked like her arm was broken and her shoulder was dislocated.

" Sara, I need to pop your shoulder back into place."

She looked dazed and not really aware of what was going on. Her blood soaked hands were shaking and she did everything she could not to look at them. Normally the sight of blood didn't bother her. But this was different. This was Zane's blood. She knew Zane, he was one of her best friends and this was _his_ blood on her hands. Suddenly Sara's memory flashed back to a couple years before.

It had been a year since Zane first arrived in the Las Vegas Crime Lab's custody. So far he proved to be a rebel without a cause and he liked to raise hell. The only one that he would allow in his cell was a CSI named Sara Sidle. Over that year they had became the best of friends and Sara enjoyed his company as much as he enjoyed hers. Sara was in Zane's cell, watching TV with him. It was her day off. Suddenly Grissom came up and knocked on the cell door.

" _Sara, can I talk to you?"_

" _Yeah sure."_

" _In private?"_

_Sara gave Zane a look of question. He shrugged and nodded at her. She got up and followed Grissom out of Zane's cell. They walked all the way through the building out into the parking lot. Finally Grissom turned and faced her._

" _Sara, I have something to ask you."_

" _What?"_

" _I've noticed how you and Zane have interacted over the past year. You seem to be the only one he trusts. What would you say if I put you in charge of supervising him?"_

" _Well what would I have to do exactly?"_

" _Just watch over him. If he looses it, you have to be the one to calm him down. Keep him in check and just make sure he doesn't stir up too much trouble. You seem to be the only one who can ever calm him down anyway. Think of it like, you're his probation officer."_

" _Alright. Yeah, okay. I'll do it."_

" _Great. Just remember, if anything happens to him, it's in your hands."_

Now it really was in her hands, literally, on her hands. Something happened to her best friend and his blood was on her hands. The thought that Sara wasn't there to protect her best friend and he got hurt, badly hurt, and now his blood was soaking her hands, it was enough to make her sick. And it did.

Searing pain in her shoulder brought Sara back to reality as Zane popped it back into place. Luckily Sara snapped out of her thought bubble after there was the sickening popping sound. It took her about a minute but after that she had limited motion of her arm again.

Zane looked at the remains of Catherine's jacket, or what was her jacket, now it seemed more of a vest. Sara had some cuts on her face, a gash in her other arm, and there was a piece of glass in her stomach that she hadn't seemed to notice. But the could was probably numbing her up a little bit.

" Zane…it hurts…" she mumbled as he took hold of the glass.

" I know Sara. Just let me pull this glass out and then it won't hurt as much." Then under his breath he added "after a while."

He yanked the glass out and Sara yelled a little. He decided to save Catherine's jacket for something else. It was heavy and not really needed for the minor cuts. Instead he took off his own shirt. It was already bloody so it wouldn't matter if he got more blood on it.

Sara looked up at Zane. He was her friend but she had to admit, his body was in seriously great shape. He was ripped. Not to the point where he was _too_ bulky but enough so that it was visible through a simple T-shirt. Despite their present situation Sara had to say to herself _Daaaaaamn!_

Zane saw Sara checking him out. He smiled as he ripped off the sleeve of his T-shirt. Gently he leaned over and got close to Sara's face so he could inspect her cuts. He dabbed them and wiped the blood away, seeing that most of them had stopped bleeding. Then he moved down to Sara's stomach area where the small chunk of glass had been. He wiped away the blood and saw that a scab had already started to form. Pulling out the chunk of glass must have got her blood flowing again and formed a scab. There wasn't much he could do about her broken arm so instead he moved on to the other arm with the large gash on it. Silently he began to wipe away the blood. He ripped off the part of his shirt that was soaked with his own blood and threw it aside. He ripped off another strip and wrapped it around Sara's forehead where she was bleeding. Then he ripped off another strip of his shirt. He tore one end so it was one long strip. Gently he started to wrap the gash on Sara's arm.

" How long has it been, since the accident?" Sara asked as she stared up at the sky.

"Well, I'd say…no more than an hour." Zane answered as he continued wrapping her arm.

" How do you know?"

He sighed and looked up at the sky. " Well we left the station at nine. We crashed at nine- forty-three. At that time the moon would have been there." Zane explained as he pointed to a spot in the sky. " Right now, the moon is there," he pointed to a different point in the sky close to but not quite the same spot as before. " The moon travels around the earth on a 360 degree circle. If you take 360 degrees and divide by twenty-four hours in a day you get fifteen degrees. Which means that the moon moves fifteen degrees every hour. There is about a fifteen-degree difference in the spot where the moon is now and where it was when we crashed. Therefore, it has been no more than an hour since we crashed."

" Wow, you're fast. But Zane…It's raining, which means it's cloudy. How do you know where the moon is?"

"Sara, I've lived my life by the moon for a long time. Clouds don't stop me. Let's just say I have a certain sense for it. Trust me, I know where it is." He winked.

" That's all well and good but Sara isn't the only one with injuries you know!" Catherine called out to Zane.

" Sorry Cat, I'll be right there."

He finished tying the bandage and smiled at Sara. " You're done. You're ankle is broken but there isn't much I can do about that."

" Are you sure broken ankles are supposed to cause this much pain?" Sara moaned.

Zane looked at it more closely and realized he missed something. Sara's pant leg had been torn open all the way up to her thigh and her leg had burn marks all over it. He realized it must have been from when the car exploded. She wasn't far enough away to avoid a burn.

" Sara, you have a large burn on your leg. Try not to move it okay?"

" Well that explains it."

" Still need help over here!" Catherine called. She really didn't think her condition was as bad as Sara's but she was tired of her getting all the attention. She told herself that was stupid, she could have lost Sara or Zane and all she was worried about was getting attention from a handsome gentleman with no shirt on.

Zane smiled at Sara, who smiled back, before he walked over and sized up Catherine's condition like he had with Sara.

" Okay Cat, your leg is defiantly broken. There's a nasty gash on your leg from when it went through the windshield. You may have a concussion as well, looks like you hit your head on the steering wheel at one point. Other than that everything else is just small cuts and bruises.

Zane bandaged up the gash on Cat's leg, bandaged her head, and wiped the blood away from the cuts.

After a while he started to shiver. " Zane, aren't you freezing?" Catherine asked, her maternal instincts taking over. He was sitting close to her and she could feel him shiver.

" Nah, I'm fine." He said as he finished wiping away the blood on her small cuts. He threw the cloth to the side.

"Bullshit, you're shivering. Put on what's left of my jacket at least."

" I'm fine Cat really. I've lived through worse."

" That's what I'm worried about. Everything you've been through Zane…it's gonna catch up with you eventually. I'm just looking out for you Zane."

" I know Cat, and thanks. But I'm fine really."

She shrugged.

" Listen, get some sleep okay? In the morning if I have the strength I'll go see if I can flag down a car or something."

" What makes you think you're going alone?"

" I'm the only on that can walk. And I ain't carrying you fatasses up that hill!" He said jokingly.

Catherine punched him in the arm.

He smiled. " Sorry. But you have a broken leg and Sara has a broken ankle, not to mention a burn."

" Alright, alright you got me. How is Sara? I can't see her." It was the dead of night and next to pitch black. Zane was in a spot in between the two girls. At one point Sara had fell asleep and rolled closer to Zane so she was pushing up against him. He looked down at her. Being what he was, he could see everything as plain as if it were day.

"She's sleeping. She looks okay but I'm worried."

" Me too. A person with a concussion like that shouldn't sleep so much. She might not wake up."

" Exactly." Zane was using what was left of his soaking wet shirt to clean himself up a little. He started to shiver again and Catherine could feel it.

" That's it. Zane don't take this the wrong way." She said as she pulled him down so he was lying down next to her. She started to rub his chest, creating body heat.

The motion woke Sara up.

" Cat, Zane?"

" We're here Sara." Cat said. " Listen, Sara can you feel Zane right next to you?"

" Yeah."

" Well the moron doesn't have a shirt on and he gave me his jacket. He's shivering and loosing what body heat he ever had. We need to warm him up."

Sara caught on and started rubbing Zane as well. He couldn't suppress a chuckle.

" What's so funny?" Catherine asked.

" Well nothing…except…this is every man's dream. To be out completely alone with two gorgeous woman and having them massaging him."

" We're saving your life you idiot!" Catherine said to him.

" You think we're gorgeous?" Sara asked, smiling.

" The two most gorgeous women I have ever laid my eyes on!" he said.

" Bite me." Catherine said before she realized whom exactly she was talking to.

" Is that an offer?" he asked, intrigued.

" Absolutely not!" she yelled.

" I'm just kidding, don't worry."

They kept rubbing Zane for a while before both of them fell asleep, and Zane as well.

* * *

"Are they letting anyone on the road yet?" Nick asked as he saw Warrick coming back from his search. 

" No. The road is flooded in two spots. Until the rain stops and the water reseeds no one is allowed past." Warrick said as he stepped out of his car.

Nick sighed. " So what have we got? They didn't show up at their assigned crime scene. We didn't find them, Catherine's car, or any sign of a crash on either side of the floods. We have no idea if they are alive or dead. Where does that leave us?"

"The same place we were when we found out they were missing." Warrick also sighed.

* * *

Zane was the first one to wake up. He looked up at the sky. The rain had stopped and it was day. It was still cloudy but he could tell where the sun was. From its position, he guessed it was about noon. He tried sitting up when he realized there was weight on his chest. He looked and saw Sara's head on his chest and one of Catherine's arms. He smiled as he carefully moved Catherine's arm to her side. The movement woke up Sara. 

" Zane?" she said groggily. Her concussion must have been having and affect on her.

" I'm going to go up and flag down a car Sara. I'll be back soon. Don't worry."

She laid her head back down on the ground and he wondered if she had really heard him at all. He sighed and started to walk up the steep hill. It was a lot of pain on his legs, which were still not recovered. But he gritted his teeth and kept walking.

Why was his healing process working so slowly? Was he really that exhausted? He wondered as he kept walking.

It was about five minutes before he reached the top of the hill, but that's only because he was walking so slowly. He got up on the side of the road and expected to see at least a few cars going by. He was wrong. The road was completely disserted. He looked back down the hill. Neither of them was moving. He decided to walk down the road.

It was about fifteen minutes before he saw the reason why no cars where on the road. The ground had leveled out and the road was flooded. Zane looked at the raging water. If the rain stopped soon then the water would start to reseed. But until then they were out of luck. But why hadn't and cars come from the other way?

About a half an hour walk back in the other direction gave him the answer. The same river that had flooded the road in the other direction had also flooded the road here. Zane sighed. How was he going to tell this to the girls?

He walked back to the road where the metal guardrail was broken. He began his decent back down to Sara and Catherine. Soon they would need food. What would he give them?

Catherine was awake and sitting up when he came back.

" So?" she asked.

" The road is flooded in two spots on the road. No cars will be coming anytime soon." It broke Zane's heart to watch her face drop with disappointment.

She looked over at Sara. " Without food we won't survive out here very long."

Zane nodded. " I know."

* * *

And there is chapter two. I hope you liked it. Spring break is over today and I have to go back to school tomorrow. So the next chapter will probably be up by next weekend. Maybe before. Please Read and Review and I'll catch you in the next chapter! 

Until then,

Ravyn


	3. The Rescue

Zane awoke with a gasp. He immediately sat up, only to be faced with the cold chill of the night. He had been without a shirt for a while and wasn't too terribly affected, but he knew the girls must have been freezing. He looked over at Catherine who was turning over and over again, chattering her teeth. She was using the jacket he gave her as a blanket, but it must have been soaked through with rain, and right now it was probably only making her more cold. He looked over at Sara who hadn't moved in a really long time, maybe ever since she fell asleep making body heat for him. She must have been unconscious again. She and Catherine might die if they were out here too much longer.

Zane tried once again to sleep but what ever had woke him up also forbade him to go to sleep again. The moon was shining down brightly through the clouds. It would be full soon. He decided to take a walk. He wrote in the mud a where he had been laying "Took a walk. Be back soon." With that he got up and headed off into the night, with nothing but his shadow and the moon as his company.

Catherine awoke with a start. She had been having a terrible nightmare. Lindsey was in the car with her, Sara, and Zane. Then the crash happened, only Lindsey couldn't get out of the car in enough time before it exploded. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. Then it hit her. Lindsey! Who was taking care of her daughter? Did she even know that her mother was still alive? Catherine looked around for Zane, but he was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly the moon broke free of the clouds and she saw words in the mud.

Catherine sighed and rolled her eyes. He always took walks at night. She never knew why. He was always such a loner. It was hard for him to really connect with anyone. The only ones he really had been willing to let himself talk to was Sara and herself. Sometimes it was hard to tell if he just didn't like people on his own or if something awful happened to him to make him that way. Maybe it was just in his nature to be solitary. Maybe it was an instinct or something of his. Catherine shook her head. Whatever it was, it had a good hold over Zane. That was another thing. Catherine always found whenever Zane was around she always found herself wondering what he was thinking. She also found herself wondering that sometimes about Grissom as well, but with Zane it was different. It was like he saw the world differently, and she wondered why she couldn't see it like he did. Who knows, maybe he did. And maybe she did too, if only she wasn't too blind to notice it.

She was knocked out of her train of thought when a pile of misshapen pieces of wood and twigs were dropped at her feet.

" Do you know how hard it is to find dry wood after a thunderstorm?" Zane asked. His Irish accent was entering his voice, as it always did when he had been working hard.

" Well, I'd imagine pretty hard, considering it's been raining for a couple of days now. How long have you been gone?"

Zane looked up at the moon. " 'Bout four 'ours."

"Wow, you were working huh?" Catherine asked as she looked at the mildly dry wood.

" 'Ell yeah! At first I was just walking, and then I figured I 'ought to warm you guys up a bit with a nice fire."

" That's why we have you around Zane. Always thinking there, aren't chya?"

" Bite me."

" I thought that was your job?"

" Catherine, I swear, you keep that up…"

Catherine chuckled a bit, which was kind of odd. Here she was, stranded with her two other friends, probably not going to live much longer, in freezing cold weather, with injuries all over her body, no hope of rescue…and here she was chuckling. Just that fact made her laugh even more.

Zane stared at Catherine, amused. Suddenly Sara caught his eye. She was shaking uncontrollably.

" Cat, please tell me Sara woke up while I was gone."

Catherine shook her head, immediately worried by her colleague…no…by her friend's condition.

Zane was at Sara's side at once. He sat her up and started rubbing her arms and her back. She let out a small groan.

" C'mon Sara. Time to wake up now. I know you're cold, but if you fall back asleep with a concussion and have it be this cold out, you might not wake up. Sara…"

Sara opened her eyes but only a little. By now Catherine had gotten the driest of the wood together in a pile. She reached over and grabbed the lighter she knew was in Zane's back pocket. She hit the wheel and the tiny flame erupted. She lit the wood on fire and capped the lighter.

" This isn't going to last long Zane."

Zane moved Sara closer to the fire. " I don't care. You both need to stay warm or you will die." Sara, now tiredly awake, let Zane continue to make body heat for her. Eventually all three of them huddled together for warmth. What little body heat Zane had in the first place he was now transferring equally to Catherine and Sara. They continued this for the next couple of hours.

Zane had drifted to sleep, Sara was staring at the sunrise, and Catherine was staring distantly at the weakening fire.

" You know, I haven't really looked at a sunrise for sometime now." Sara said distantly.

" We're usually either too busy or too sleepy to notice it." Catherine said, her eyes leaving the fire and wandering over to the rising sun. The clouds had drifted away just long enough for the colors of the sunrise to reflect across that part of the sky. The blending of colors looked beautiful.

" I haven't looked at a sunrise in Vegas at all. The last time I really truly looked at one was when I was in pigtails."

They both watched the sun rise until the clouds covered it up again.

Catherine sighed. " Sara?"

" Yeah?"

" Can you do me a favor?"

" Sure."

" If I don't make it…can you…can you tell Lindsey I love her?"

Sara whipped her head to Catherine's direction, which gave her a headache. " What do you mean?"

" Well, if you make it out of this and I don't…"

" Catherine stop it! You are going to make it out of this and you're going to see your daughter again. Don't start talking like you're already dead, it's not you, and you're scaring me."

" I don't know Sara. I just keep getting more and more tired."

" Then you should get some more fucking sleep!"

" But…I'm afraid to, okay Sara? I'm afraid that if I close my eyes now I won't ever open them again."

" You will. I guarantee you. You are going to get out of this, and you're going to live on to play with your daughter and look at the sunrises. I'll make sure you do. And we have Zane. It's not like he's going to let us go that easily. We're going to make it through and we'll see Nick, and Warrick, and Greg, and Grissom again. We aren't going to loose it. Not now, not like this. We are going to die a long time from now. We'll be old women and die in our sleep. This isn't it. There's more. I promise."

Catherine stared oddly at Sara. She had to say, she didn't expect Sara to be the type for an inspiring talk. Though some part of her kept her mind down to reality and didn't believe Sara, another part of her listened to every word. They couldn't give up now. Not like this. Catherine looked over at Sara and gave her a reassuring smile. Sara smiled back before resuming her watch of the sunrise.

Suddenly there was a loud noise. It was loud enough to awake Zane with a start.

" What is that?" he asked.

" I don't know," Catherine said. " It almost sounds like…a helicopter."

And she was right. Out of the distance a helicopter flew over them and went on. It slowed down and there were a few shouts.

Catherine looked at Zane. " What are they saying?"

Zane listened intently for a moment. " They found us. They've been looking for a while. They're going to lower a harness for you guys."

Sara looked at him questioningly. " What do you mean 'you guys'?"

Zane looked at her regretfully. " I'm not going."

" What!" they both said in unison.

" They're going to take you guys straight to a hospital. I can't go, I can't risk someone finding out about me when they hook me up to a machine and realize that I don't have a heart beat."

" Zane you have to come. If you don't and you stay out here to much longer you could die." Catherine reasoned.

" I'll only stay out here until I know the coast is clear to go back to the lab."

" But what if you loose control? What if you can't help but kill someone? I won't let that happen Zane." Sara was almost in tears.

" Sara listen, you have to leave me here. I won't loose control I promise. I'll only be gone for a little while. The helicopter is far enough away so that they can't see me if I run now. I promise I'll be back soon. You will see me again."

He gave Catherine a tight hug in which she returned sadly. She knew he was right but she didn't want him to leave, not after what had happened, what he had done for them. He then turned to Sara and gave her a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. But Sara wouldn't let him go. Catherine went to her side.

"C'mon Sara, you know it's for his, and our own good."

Sara still wouldn't let go of Zane's hand. He looked at her sorrowfully. He never wanted to cause her pain; all he wanted to do was make her happy. Regretfully he pulled out of her grasp and took a few steps away. She was crying now. He looked back at her. The helicopter had turned around and was heading back now.

" I love you Sara, I always have and I always will."

And with that, Zane took off running. He was out of sight before they knew it. Sara was taken back by Zane's parting words. She had always had feelings for Zane and she knew he was always very affectionate to her but she had no idea he felt the same way.

By now the helicopter was hovering over them. A harness dropped down to the ground as low as the helicopter could go. The helicopter could not land because of the severe slant they were on.

" So, you wanna go first Sara?"

Sara looked at Catherine. " Nah, you're the one with the daughter, you go first."

" You sure?"

" Yeah, go for it."

" You're not going to go running after Zane are you?"

" Do I look like a moron?"

" Well…"

" Oh bite me."

" That's his job remember?"

" You better be glad I'm too tired to kick your ass right now."

Catherine smiled as she gave the thumbs up sign to the rescue guy in the helicopter. He narrowed his eyes to see she was already in the harness but he shrugged and flew away. Catherine always wondered what it was like to fly. Now she knew. It gave her a rush as the helicopter flew. She saw the bird's eye view of the crash as the helicopter went higher. She went over the spot on the road where it all happened, the skid marks were still there. Sara looked so far away. Catherine could even see where Zane was watching them from a distance. He wanted to stay out of site but also wanted to make sure they were safe before he left. She saw the flood as they passed over it and prayed to God that the harness wouldn't break, like she'd seen in oh so many movies. The water raged across the road with a ferocity she'd never seen before. The helicopter slowed down and lowered to the road on the other side of the flood, a safe distance away, where cars were parked and Gil Grissom, Warrick Brown, Nick Stokes, and Greg Sanders stood. Along with them Lindsey was jumping up and down to see her mommy okay.

No one noticed it, but as the helicopter was lowering Catherine to the ground, the wire holding the rope that was holding the harness, wore some of the rope away as it cut into it, as it had been doing for a while now. The rope became weaker….

Once her feet hit the ground, Catherine unbuckled herself and stumbled over to her daughter, hugging her tight and sinking to the pavement. The EMT's ran over to her immediately with a stretcher. They picked her up and strapped her on it.

Warrick and Nick ran to Catherine's side, Grissom following behind.

" Cat, I'm so glad you're okay!" Warrick exclaimed.

" We all are, what was it like?"

" With all do respect guys, I appreciate that you're happy to see me, but I'm not the one still down there."

The helicopter was already going back for Sara. It lowered down and lowered the harness.

Sara struggled to get in it. She took a couple of minutes but eventually got herself settled in. She gave the 'rock on' sign to the guy in the helicopter, something she picked up from Zane a long time ago, knowing that he was watching her. She felt his eyes on her.

The helicopter rose up higher and started to move forward when suddenly the cable snapped. Nick, Warrick, Grissom, Cat, Lindsey, and everyone else held their breath as they saw Sara fall.

Sara screamed as she was suddenly plunging down to the ground. All that went through her head was: I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I love Zane, I'm gonna die. She opened her eyes and saw as the ground became dangerously close. She braced herself for the impact and got herself ready to face Death.

She winced and took in a short breath as she hit something. She waited a couple seconds and thought she must be dead. She slowly opened her eyes to realize she was hovering over the ground. Wait…no…she wasn't hovering. She opened her eyes all the way to see Zane looking back at her. He had caught her before she hit the ground. He gave up his cover to save her.

" Zane…"

" Are you alright?"

" Yeah, I'm fine. Zane…you saved me. You should be far away from here right now. Why'd you stay?"

" I know I should be gone. But I had to stay to make sure you were safe before I left. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you and I wasn't there to protect you."

The helicopter flew away, leaving Sara and Zane on their own.

" Can you walk?"

Sara shook her head.

" Alright. C'mon, they can't do anything now."

Zane started walking up the steep incline. His muscles hurt and he knew he was going to pass out soon but he had to make sure Sara was safe first. He carried Sara up the hill, one arm around her back and the other under her knees. It was about ten minutes before he reached the top of the road.

" Well why couldn't we do that before?" Sara asked with a little bit of humor.

" Because that wasn't the hard part." Zane said, eyeing the raging water and his friends on the other side of it.

" No, Zane," Sara said, catching on. " You aren't seriously thinking of going across that are you?"

" If I 'ave too." He said, his Irish accent seeping back into his voice.

The helicopter came back. The man operating tried to land the helicopter on the road so they could get in it. But suddenly the ground shook. Being that the road already rested on a steep hill, it was weakened by the flooding for the past couple of days and the added weight of the helicopter was too much. The helicopter lifted up into the air just as a piece of the road fell away.

Before any more damage could be done, Zane ran into the raging water. The ice-cold water hit him like a thousand pin sharp knives but he had to get through it. He pushed through, lifting Sara up as high as he could. Every step he took seemed to do nothing but get him deeper in the water. He was so tired and he just wanted to let go. But he wouldn't. Any other lycan would have forgot about the humans and escaped but not him. He pushed on, intent on getting Sara to the other side, whether he made it or not. With every step, every breath got harder. He just kept his eye Lindsey, who was looking back at them with a look of horror on her face, and yet, a tint of hope. He used all of his strength to push against and through the water. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he was at the other side. He laid Sara down on the dry pavement, but he couldn't get himself out of the water. He leaned over to her and she stared back at him.

" I love you Sara." They shared a kiss before he pulled away and let go of the road, letting the water take him away.

Sara tried to sit up and grab him but her headache hit her at full force and everything went black.

_Drop a line before you leave and it will be greatly appreciated. See you in the next chapter._

_Until then,_

_Ravyn_


	4. Dead?

Thank you, all my lovely reviewers for commenting on my story. Reviews make the world go around. And thank you Jenny. I updated my story yesterday but your review has inspired me to sit down in my room, grab a drink, a toothpick, shut of the lights, and start writing. (That's just what I do when I start writing. I'm usually in my room for hours on end, writing and tweaking, so I like to get comfortable) Aaaanyway, Thank you again for reviewing everyone, please keep it up: D

_Does anyone know exactly how old Lindsey is? I lost count…_

The Blood Of Eden

Sara gasped as she woke up. Where was she? What happened? Where was Zane? What happened to Catherine?

She struggled to speak but all that came out was " Where…?"

A groggy, but familiar voice sounded from the other side of the room. " About time you woke up. I didn't know any adult, especially you Sara Sidle, could sleep so god damn much. You're in the hospital. Relax, the nurse will be in here soon."

Sara could barely comprehend what Catherine was telling her. She only had one thing on her mind. " What happened to Zane?" she asked in her own groggy voice.

When Catherine hesitated, Sara knew it couldn't be good. " Cat…what happened to…him?"

Cat drew in a breath. " He was too exhausted from everything that happened. He was over working himself by just bringing you up that hill, and then the flood…it was too much for even him to handle. He got you over to the other side and after he said goodbye to you, he…he passed out. He passed out and he let go of the road, letting the water take him away. I'm not sure if he meant to do that or not…there was a news crew there covering the story…they assumed that he's dead." Catherine started tearing up. She wasn't quite sure if Zane was really dead or not.

Sara gasped. She couldn't believe it. Zane was dead. Zane was dead and it was all her fault. If she hadn't been so weak, he'd still be here! " It's…all…all my fault."

" Sara, don't say that! The harness broke, he wanted to save you. He did it all for you…if he hadn't done what he had done you'd be the one dead right now. It wasn't your fault and if you keep on saying it was I'm gonna limp over there and beat your face in!"

Sara got silent, but inside she was screaming. What did she do? If she could have just been stronger and carried herself up the hill, then Zane wouldn't have been so tired. And if he weren't so tired he would have been able to make it across the flood. He was so close. Why could she have just helped him out? All she had to do was pull him up. Why didn't she? Sara began to feel extremely guilty. If it weren't for her, Zane would still be alive. Sara sniffed as tears filled her eyes.

A knock on the door sounded and a nurse came in. Sara quickly blinked back her tears and wiped her face, drowning any sign of weakness.

"Ah," The nurse said happily. " Finally she's awake. We were starting to worry about you, miss Sidle. A woman with a concussion of your stature shouldn't sleep so much! Miss Willows over here was constantly telling me to check your pulse to make sure you were still alive!"

" I just wanted to make sure she wasn't as dead as she looked!" Catherine stuck up for herself.

" Oh bite me Cat. How long have I been asleep?" Sara inquired of the nurse.

" A week."

" A WEEK!" Sara couldn't believe it. She had been dead to the world for a week! It had been a week since Zane died!

" I told you she'd freak when you told her, Anne." Catherine sighed.

" Yes well, to her it must feel like she only went to sleep a little while ago. How awful it must have been, stuck out there for all that time, and with such horrid injuries! I'm very sorry about that man. I heard about him on the news. He died saving you…" Anne sympathetically looked at Sara.

Sara instantly became quiet, looking down at her sickeningly white covers.

Catherine frowned. " How about we not talk about the accident, okay Anne?"

Anne frowned as well, realizing she had gone too far. " Yes, right, well…" Anne began her usual routine check up. She wished Sara was still asleep, because she put up much less of a fight when Anne began changing her bandages. Finally, she was done and she left Sara and Catherine alone.

Catherine knew Sara was still blaming herself for what happened to Zane, but she didn't say much of it, for fear that Sara would break down and not want to talk to anyone. Catherine instead picked up the remote to the T.V in hanging from the ceiling. The T.V was placed between both their beds so both could watch it without feeling uncomfortable. Catherine flicked through the channels.

" What do you feel like watching Sara, cartoons, action movies with no plots, drama stories that take real life situations and fill them with so much bullshit that it brings you to tears. Or reality T.V, which, well, let's not even go there, because then I'll be ranting for hours, and I know how much you hate that. Or we could watch Forensic Files and point out all the stupid mistakes and slip-ups. Your choice!"

" How about Spongebob Squarepants!" A voice said from the door.

" Greg, please. Sara and Catherine are two grown women with sense. Unlike you." Another voice said,

" I don't know Nicky, I don't think I'd really want Greg to be a grown woman. He'd look awfully weird."

" Oh kiss my ass Warrick!" Greg shouted.

" You guys are behaving like children!" Grissom sighed.

" Hey guys!" Catherine's face lit up at the sight of her friend's piling through the door.

Warrick walked over to Catherine with a brown bag.

" Hey guys." Sara said, still recovering from her weeklong slumber.

Warrick pulled out something wrapped in paper from the bag. " Your favorite, quarter-pounder with cheese, ketchup, and pickles."

" You're my hero!" Catherine hugged Warrick and then grabbed the cheeseburger from him, opening it hungrily.

" Catherine, I know you aren't going to sit there and eat that burger right in front of me." Sara complained.

" Sorry kiddo," Catherine smiled. " You're on a strictly liquid diet, doc's orders." She bit into the burger.

" Are kidding me!" Sara groaned as she turned away from Catherine.

Greg looked at Sara. " I thought you were a vegetarian?"

" I am, but it's still not fair!"

" I could slide you some of my pickles!" Catherine joked.

Sara sent a look Catherine's way that could have stopped a wolf dead in its tracks, but it was all good fun.

Catherine took another bite of the burger. " Thank you so much Warrick! I swear the food here is made of cardboard! I am officially making lunch for Lindsey from now on, instead of letting her buy. If the stuff there is anything like the stuff here…"

" I'll try to take that as a compliment." Anne said as she walked into the room with water and aspirin for Sara.

She handed Sara two pills and the water. Sara popped the pills into her mouth and took a swig of water. Once she swallowed the pills she drank the water, with Greg chanting, "Chug" next to her. Anne smiled and left the room. She chugged the water down in seconds and then through the bottle at Greg. It hit his spiky haired head and bounced off, rolling away somewhere.

" Ow," Greg rubbed his head. " What was that for?" he asked innocently.

" I don't know, but it made me feel better." Sara replied.

" Oh. Well it's not like I mind either way. You look hot doing anything." Greg smiled slyly.

" Greg, please tell me you aren't hitting on my girlfriend?" a rough, throaty voice said from the doorway to the room.

Everything fell quite. The group turned around toward the door, jaws a-gape. Catherine's eye filled with joy and happiness as she dropped her burger from shock. Sara, who until now had been looking down at the sickeningly white bedspread in front of her, looked towards the door. She couldn't believe it. It must have been a dream. It had to have been a dream.

There in the doorway, stood Zane. His skin was almost as sickeningly white as the sheets, but it had a tint of blue to it. He had a split lip and a lot of other scars, from what they could see, on his face an arms. His raven black hair looked soaking wet and he was wearing the same clothes that he had been wearing all through the excruciating ordeal. His eyes, his brilliant blue eyes, normally so majestic and deep, were hollow, and dull, and bloodshot. He was even shaking a bit too, but no one noticed. No one, except Catherine and Sara.

Zane looked as if he had literally just walked out of the water. But there was so much wrong with this picture. Normally he held himself high, showing no fear. Now he was shivering a little, and needed to lean against the doorway for support. Normally he looked so strong and he wore his pride like he would wear a shirt. But now he looked weak and frail. In fact, he looked like he was way beyond dead.

Sara noticed these differences, but she ignored them completely. He was alive…almost, and breathing…almost, and standing…not really. She was in shock. Complete and udder shock. So much in fact, that had she not already been sitting, her knees would have gave out right there.

" Z…Z-Z-Zane?" she could barely even say his name.

Zane had a bad limp, and used what ever he could for support, a chair, a railing, Greg, Nick, and Warrick, but he finally got to Sara's side. He kneeled down and took her hand.

Sara couldn't help but wince. Zane's skin was normally cold, but right now it was so cold to the touch that it felt like it could have given her frostbite.

" I…I thought you were…." Sara had a hard time speaking.

" Dead?" He finished for her.

She nodded.

" Well, I was pretty damn close. But while I was in the water, all I could see was your face. I kept on thinking about what you would do if I never came back. I didn't think I could handle never seeing you again. It gave me the strength I needed to wake up and get back to you."

Sara was close to tears. She didn't want to cry in front of her co-workers though. She never cried in front of them, she wouldn't now. But she couldn't really help it. One single tear escaped her eye before she wiped all traces of the salty liquid away.

Suddenly Zane let out a gasp as he clutched his side. It appeared that he was still bleeding from some of his wounds. And of course, right at that moment, Anne walked in to see him there. Against everyone's wishes, she called for a doctor.

A medical staff came rushing in to take Zane away, and in his weakened condition, he was too afraid to fight them off. Every one of them, Sara, Catherine, Greg, Nick, Warrick, and even Grissom knew what would happen if they hooked Zane up to those machines.

As Zane was whisked off to the ER, they could only wait for the inevitable.

To Sara, it seemed like hours went by, but it was only five minutes. But finally, a doctor came in with a grim expression. " I don't know how that poor man survived and got here, but how ever he did it, he must have just been determined to get back to you, miss Sidle. By the time we got him in the ER, his pulse was already flat. I'm sorry for your loss…" she looked grimly at Sara.

They all tried to look as sad as humanely possible. Suddenly a young nurse came to the doctor's side. " The body's gone! The body's gone!"

They ran back down the hall and left the CSI team to themselves.

" Where do you think he went?" Catherine asked aloud.

" He should have just let them bury him. It's less conspicuous that way." Sara muttered.

" Ah yeah, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun…" Came Zane's tired voice as he threw himself into the room and hid in a shadowy corner.

Catherine's maternal instincts took over again. " Zane you need some serious rest." She listened to him panting. " Listen to you. You are in a very weak condition and you shouldn't be running around like you are. You're gonna hurt yourself beyond repair, god dammit!"

" I know. I'm sorry. But listen, I need one of you guys to lift me some blood from storage."

" You mean steal, from a hospital?" Grissom snorted, as if the act was equal to that of murdering the Pope in public.

" Either that or some innocent people die, Grissom. How would you prefer it?" Zane countered, his voice not nearly as convincing as it usually was.

" Well, the blood you steal could be someone's only chance at survival!" Grissom argued.

" Look Gill, that's my curse. No matter what I do, people die! But how would you prefer it? I keep ten people alive at the price of two, or the other way around?" Zane glared at him from the shadows. Grissom never liked Zane for many reasons, one of them being Sara. Grissom had always hated the fact that right when he thought he could take a chance with Sara's affection, Zane took it all away. But at least Zane usually respected Grissom, until now. Right at this point, Grissom only saw Zane as a murderer, but his logic was true. Brooding, he backed off and looked away.

Greg stepped forward. " I'll do it. I was very sticky fingered as a teen."

Zane nodded. " I need about four packs of blood from the storage room. Get AB negative. It's a rare type, not many have it." He said, sending a glance in Grissom's direction.

Greg left the room leaving everyone to their own thoughts.

Sara suppressed a grin. She couldn't help but get kind of cheery. She thought that all of the time she used up on caring about Grissom was a waste. It made her a bit happier to know that she had got to him. She could see, plain as anyone else in the room, that he was jealous of Zane, and not only that. But he was jealous of Zane over her. She would take Zane any day, but it took a weight off her shoulders knowing that Grissom was jealous.

Greg came back a little while later with his hoodie noticeably stuffed with something. Once he was safely inside the room he emptied the contents and threw the large packs of blood to Zane. He shoved them in his pockets and got up. He limped over to Sara's bedside and kissed the top of her forehead.

" Don't tell me you're leaving?" she asked, suddenly nervous. She was afraid. Not of him, but by the concept of him leaving her again.

" I have to. I need to get out of this place, but don't worry, I won't be far away. I'm only going to the roof."

" But…" she looked up at him.

" What?"

Sara looked around her at everyone else in the room. Upon noticing her gaze, they all appeared to be fixated with something else suddenly, except Grissom, who was still brooding and looked to be zoning out.

Sara pulled Zane closer to her. " Are you coming back?" she whispered, now obviously worried.

Zane smirked. " Fuck yeah I'm coming back!" he whispered to her. " There isn't a force on this earth that could keep me away from you. Not even death. I think I've shown that to you already, haven't I?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

His confidence was returning to him, that was a good sign. This gave Sara the reassurance she needed, and she nodded her head. Zane smiled and gave her a hug, and then they locked lips for way to short of a time than Sara would have liked, but she remained content with it, partly because his lips were still so cold.

Zane stood to the best of his ability, and smiled at them all. " See you all tomorrow. Or at least Sara and Catherine…"

" Yeah, we can cover your shifts." Warrick said.

Warrick, Nick, Greg, and Grissom said their goodbyes. They all left the room at the same time, Nick, Warrick, and Greg assisting in a game of " Hide-the-Zane-from-all-of-the-doctors-while-we-slip-out" and Grissom following behind, still brooding.


End file.
